Paul Scofield, R.I.P.



There's no clip of this online, but I will also forever remember his turn as poet Mark Van Doren in Quiz Show, and the terrifying power of his confrontations with his son Charles (Ralph Fiennes). In the film, Mark Van Doren's doddering charm masked a quiet and coiled ego, which manifested itself in passive-aggressive putdowns during a family birthday party (watch how Scofield pulls back from Charles' proud declarations of his quiz show wins, holds the silent moment in a pause, then raises a single eyebrow like an rapier, matched by his cutting, single word: "Well!"), and unleashed itself in a final, angry thundering in an empty lecture hall, all the rage of a father destroying his son: "YOUR name is MY name!"

Comments

Popular Posts